To fill the hole in the Ball State defense created by the end of outside linebacker Davyd Jones' career, safety Aaron Morris was asked to bulk up and move to linebacker in Spring Practice. The move was a success, and Morris is expected to line up as a linebacker in his first start in college when the season opens Sept. 3 against Indiana.
To help with the position switch, strength coach David Feeley developed a program to help Morris add muscle mass that included weighing Morris before and after practice. Then Morris would know exactly how much he had to eat each day.
Morris credits Feeley's program for helping him put on 30 pounds, beefing up to 195 pounds on a 6'0" frame. It is the most he has weighed, but Morris said he has not lost the speed that made him an effective safety last year.
"I still have my safety speed, so I have a little bit of an advantage to get to the ball," he said. "It's a good move."
Morris played in all 12 games as a freshman last year, making 23 tackles. Morris was a prized recruit by former coach Stan Parrish, so his early success was not a surprise.
"I felt he was going to be a good recruit for us," Parrish said last year.
Now, he will play alongside juniors Travis Freeman and Tony Martin, a pair of three-year starters. While it will be a new look for Ball State fans, Morris and Freeman have played together as linebackers before. During the 2008 season when Freeman was a senior and Morris a junior, they both played linebacker at Glenville High School in Cleveland.
Freeman has helped Morris get used to playing linebacker again as the entire defense learns defensive coordinator Jay Bateman's scheme.
"[Freeman and Martin have] told me what to do and helped me read gaps," Morris said. "We've all had to learn the playbook because of the new coaching staff. And coach Bateman has been right there by our side."
With the first game of the season nine days away, Morris is in the final stretch of preparing for his Ball State debut as a linebacker. He said he plans to be in the film room every day so he can be as prepared for the game as possible.
"I have to do every little thing I got to do to help the team so I can be perfect, so I can be perfect," Morris said. "We all just have to come together these last few days out in practice. I'm real excited."
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